Boys Lax Cruises into Sectional Semifinals

On Thursday afternoon, it was another good day to be fan of Summit boys lacrosse, as the undefeated Hilltoppers defeated Rumson-Fair Haven 13-2 to advance to the Sectional Semifinals of the state tournament.

"We knew we had to bring our 'A' game and come ready to play," Summit senior attackman Johnny Scioscia said. "Rumson beat Glen Ridge to get here, and we knew Glen Ridge was a strong team."

Summit set the tone very early on Thursday afternoon. In the first eight seconds of play, four Hilltoppers touched the ball. Senior Danny Feeney won the opening face off and passed to Nick Kilkowski, who then made a sharp pass to Johnny Scioscia. Scioscia then flicked the ball to teammate Michael Ford for the goal just eight seconds into the game. Such quick ball movement and offensive efficiency was exactly what the Hilltoppers wanted, and exactly what Rumson-Fair Haven needed to avoid.

"At this point, everyone's playing to keep their season alive," Summit head coach Jim Davidson said. "Today I thought we had high-quality shots, moved the ball really well, and found the open man."

One minute later, Summit struck net again when Nolan Prinzen assisted Scioscia for a difficult goal from a tight angle.

Now with a 2-0 lead, the Hilltoppers continued to press offensively and fire off shots. Rumson-Fair Haven's goalie, Trevor James, was a strong presence in the net, however, stopping nine Summit shots in the first quarter.

"Hats off to their goalie," Scioscia said. "He played a great game."

James didn't have much control over Summit's next goal, however. With 4:12 remaining in the quarter, Kilkowski lofted a high pass to Scioscia right in front of Rumson's net. Scioscia jumped what seemed to be four feet in the air to retrieve the ball and then released a shot in mid-air. The athletic goal gave the Hilltoppers a 3-0 lead.

With one minute remaining in the quarter, Summit defender Ryan Troy made a strong takeaway check to gain possession for his team. Thirty-five seconds later, Summit once again found the back of the net off a goal by Terry McKenna. After the first quarter, Summit led 4-0.

Another Summit takeaway check, this time by defender Joe Jaskolski, resulted in a Kilkowski goal just over a minute into the second quarter. It would take Summit more than 10 minutes to score their next goal, in part due to seven second-quarter saves by Rumson's James. But with 16 seconds remaining before halftime, Ford found Scioscia for his third goal of the game. At the half, Summit led 6-0.

"We try to prepare the kids in practice and give them as many scenarios as we can, both offensively and defensively," Davidson said. "That way, we're covered." 

The Hilltoppers began the third quarter where they left off in the second. Just over a minute after play resumed, Feeney assisted Kilkowski for the score. Forty seconds later, Summit's Tim Yager found the back of the net to increase his team's lead to 8-0.

The Hilltoppers scored three more times in the third quarter off of goals by Sonny Round, Scioscia, and Nick Kitsos. Entering the game's final quarter, Summit had outscored Rumson-Fair Haven 11-0, and had outshot them 44-2.

Summit's Michael Tsiang not only won 9 of 10 face offs on Thursday afternoon, the junior also scored the Hilltoppers' 12th goal of the game just 58 seconds into the fourth quarter. Although Rumson-Fair Haven's Beau Bennardo put two shots on goal in the final quarter of play, Summit's Ian Pearson scored the 13th goal for his team to give the Hilltoppers a 13-2 victory over the Bulldogs.

"Going forward, we need to work in-between the lines to limit our opponent's possessions and maximize our own," Scioscia said. "Offensively, we need to capitalize on every possession."

Johnny Scioscia led the Hilltoppers with four goals and two assists on the afternoon. Fellow attackman Nick Kilkowski had two goals and two assists in the game. Rumson-Fair Haven goalie, Trevor James, made 24 saves for his team.

No. 1 Summit will host No. 4 Mountain Lakes in the Public, Group 1 Sectional Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Metro Homes Field. Tentative game time is 1 p.m. Mountain Lakes defeated No. 5 Chatham, 8-7, to advance to the semifinals.